NDS_reviews

I haven't (totally) forgotten about this place, really. I'll have some new reviews up sometime soon.

Coming up:
Retro Game Challenge
Space Invaders Extreme
Arkanoid DS
Paddle Controller
Shooting Watch DS (homebrew)/Shooting Watch (the real thing)

So! Eagerly anticipating Starfox Command, which had all signs pointing to a great Starfox game after a long absense of one, I strolled into my local GameStop. I grabbed a box from the shelf and paid $35 dollars for what I hoped would be the next in my set of perfect DS games. I was in for a surprise.

The game is terrible. Absolutely so. Let me explain why:
I started with the single player, wanting to get used to the controls before heading online. The gibberish speaking of ROB and Fox took me back to the good old days. Thinks were looking great! Then the actual gameplay started. First, this new turn based garbage is just that: garbage. First you're gonna tell me I have to draw where I want to fly (Yes. I get it. The DS has a touch screen. That doesn't mean you need lame gimmicks in every game) to get all the enemies, and then you're going to tell me tha the Great Fox, the ship that has a billion guns and is a thousand times the size of any other ship in the universe is going to die if one measly squadron of fighters makes it too close? Well, at least once I start flying it'll be fun. WRONG. Tell me why I can't have flowing missions like Starfox and Starfox 64? Why am I being subjected to sub-SNES quality arenas and only fighting 4 fighters at a time? Starfox is supposed you and your team against insurmountable odds, not you against a few dudes in a tiny area. The only time it's supposed to be that is when you're fighting a boss, and then it's supposed to be challenging.

Well, I kept playing, saying to myself, "it'll pick up; this is only the beginning, after all" NO. It doesn't. It's just as stale 5 missions in as it is at the first. Terrible.

But hey, maybe it's like Metroid - lame single player but fun multiplayer. I've gotten used to the controls (which are shoddy at best), so let's play online! Connected fine. Found three others to play within seconds. Hey, this is looking great! Alright, let's get fighting! The battle starts. The graphical quality is still crap, but I've gotten over that. Oh hey, looks like someone's locking on to me. Oh no they hit me and I died. They hit me one time and I died. Excuse me? Whatever, I guess I just need to get the drop on them. Hey, I shot him once and he died. Why didn't my killcount go up? What's that star he dropped? Powerup? Cool, I'll take it. Ah, darn, another guy beat me to it. Oh well. Well, I guess this is alright, if you don't mind the fact that as soon as someone else sees you you're dead (and vice versa). Time's up! Let's tally up the scores! Wait. Wait. Wait a damn minute. I killed a bunch of guys, so how is my killcount 0? I wonder why the kill count has a star for an ico- OH WAIT. Those stars people drop when they die are the points in this game? So the point apparantly is not to get kills, but to be closest to the people who die so you can steal all the stars. What a load of crap. Whoever thought that was the ideal way to do this needs to be punched. In the throat.

So, lame controls, lame singleplayer campaign, and lame multiplayer, all dressed up in graphics somewhere in between the NES and SNES (with the style and flair of neither). Starfox Command gets a massive FAIL from me.
Crossposting to ds_adult

Deep Labyrinth (ディープラビリンス)
Interactive Brains
Official Site
Japan release: March 2006
US release: July 2006

An original first-person dungeon RPG for the Nintendo DS, based on a cell phone game.

( Full Review )

The reception for New Super Mario Bros. has been pretty mixed it seems, the majority of people seem to love that they finally have a new Mario game after all this time, while others aren't impressed and wish that it had more new content. Personally I'm very pleased with what the game has to offer.

( Clicky here )

A bit late perhaps, but I dusted off this old gem sitting on my bookshelf recently, and wanted to say a few words.

( Read more... )

I've just begun playing "Starfy Legend 4" / "Densetsu no Stafi 4" (Japanese homepage), which has no scheduled English release date yet (none of the previous Starfy games ever made it stateside). I can't yet say what challenges the later levels may hold (early levels are always kinda easy), or what the language barrier may be (I get the feeling it may be pretty steep later on), but I can tell you that the first three levels have offered more platforming goodness than "Super Princess Peach" offered in the entire game. I may post a proper review once I've played a bit more into it.

I was also considering posting a review of Deep Labyrinth, but procrastinated and lost interest. Suffice it to say, it's worth a look, but you might want to wait for the English version.

Nintendo - 1 Player

( Review Cut for Length... )

Mario Kart DS
Nintendo DS - Nintendo
1 to 8 players (4 max on WiFi)

( Review cut for length... )

Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop

To be very honest if you didn't get into the whole Tamagotchi virtual pet thing, or don't like games like Animal Crossing you will not like this game.
In Tamagotchi Connection you choose one of three virtual partners and with them work at a variety of small shops. There are quite a few different stores, 10 or so I think. And they vary from a flower shop to a spa, to a dentist office. As customers come into the store they tell your little virtual friend what they want, for instance at the cake decorating store they say the kind of cake they want and it shows a picture. It is then up to you to choose the proper flavor, icing, decorations etc. and when you are finished you are graded on how well you did fulfilling their request. By doing well you eventually can get the store upgraded, and unlock for stuff to buy for your little virtual pal. Besides the stores there is a actual tamagotchi virtual pet thingy, with all the normal virtual pet stuff. So with the money you earned you can buy clothes, food, decorate your room etc.

I wouldn't say that this is a bad game, there's no glaring flaws or anything, but to me working in the shops is just to much like work. For Tamagotchi fans it'd be worth a try, but to anyone else it's defentley a game that should be try before you buy.

My honest review: 5/10
My trying to be unbiased review 6.5/10

Shunkan Puzzloop (瞬感パズループ)
a.k.a. Magnetica
Mitchell Corporation / Nintendo
Japan release: March 2006
US/Europe release: June 2006

( Full Review )

Overall: A decent puzzle game made better with the inclusion of extra modes and excellent control with the stylus. Balanced gameplay and a steady learning curve keep the game interesting without becoming frustrating. If you're a fan of puzzle games, keep an eye out for it this summer once Tetris DS has started to lose its appeal ^_^.

7.5 / 10

Woohoo spring break next week! Since it seems I can't get shit done without setting a deadline for myself I'm telling all 2 of you readers that by Monday there will be a Puzzloop (Magnetica) review by Monday. Maybe some others over break. Till then it'll be the usual nothing.

~~peshue

I've had Nanostray since about a week after it was released. i had to call all over the place to find a copy of it. I was excited when I finally found a copy of it. But since getting big titles like Mario Kart I haven't spent much time with it.
After not playing Nanostray for months it was a pleasant experience to come back to it. The first thing that really stuck out was the graphics. Nanostray was the first game to really show off the DS's 3D capability and it still looks beautiful even next to MK:DS and AC:WW. Like most shooters it has the wonderfull ability to slow down the entire system at some points (this makes me smile no matter what system).
The controls for the game were widely complained about, but they really aren't bad at all. The L trigger fires, R pulls items to your ship, and Y fires your charge shot. The thouch screen is used to switch weapons. Using the screen does take a bt of getting usd too but it's very natural once you known which weaopn is where, you don't really have to switch often anyways. The only thing a really dislike about the controls is the L shoulder for firing. After awhile I tend to get cramps in my left hand from squeezing down the shoulder and using the d-pad at the same time. The r shoulder whould have been more comfortable. My second gripe about the game is the scoring system, you lose points for pulling items to your ship, and for firing without hitting anything. No spamming the trigger :(. But you really can't do that till you've memorized the level at least partially. This wouldn't be all so bad but the level design just dosen't seem all that tight. There's no seizure inducing bullet filled screens like Mars Matrix, but there's nothing near the finesse required for Ikaruga. The game is just kinda meh, it dosen't have a personality I guess.

All in all if you don't like shooters, you proablly won't like this game. If you do it's worth it just because it's portable. And if it's in the bargain bin there's no reason not to go for it. It's a great game to kill 5 minutes.
I give Nanostray a 7.5/10. It's a solid game but lacks the polish I expect from 2D shooters

A brief review on this one, not sure if it's a discount title or what ($10 at my Best Buy!), but it's really good! Controls are great, the cars move at a reasonable speed and corner slowly, so it's all about timing your turns and braking properly. And the graphics are probably the best I've seen on a DS game yet, which really surprised me. Lots and lots of beautiful detailed tracks. And lots of stuff to unlock, from the looks of it. My only gripe is that they didn't use the dual screens very well, there's so much info on the HUD on the top screen you can barely see sometimes. But the rotating map below is very handy. Worth a look if you want a decent, cheap, realistic racing game.

Figured I'd start this community off with a game that probably doesn't have an English review anywhere else, since I finally finished playing it yesterday.

Name: Londonian Gothics ～迷宮のロリィタ～
aka Londonian Gothics: Meikyuu no Lolita
Release Date: 13 October 2005 (Japan)
Company: Megacyber
Official site

Londonian Gothics is a self-described "Gothic-Lolita Action RPG", though it's more like a maze-running action/puzzle game. It's a good attempt and had promise, but ultimately isn't that great of a game.

( Full review )

Electroplankton
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/527432.html?nc=21

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/599609.html

Trauma Center
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/595522.html

Pac N' Roll
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/593736.html

Credit to prguitarman, tidegear, and thehstandsfor for these.

Ya well there's nothing here right now, I need to get somet ime to write up some reviews still, go ahead and post your own reviews (behind a cut please, unless it's short).

-peshue